Scientists transform donor blood to make it safe for all

The NHS has welcomed the research at British Columbia University in Vancouver, Canada, but said clinical trials were needed. Millions of hospital patients are set to benefit from a new medical breakthrough which turns all donated blood into a universal type. Every day, thousands of people need donated blood. But only blood without A or B antigens, such as type O, can be given to people in need. Type O blood is usually in short supply because less than one in two people have it and stocks are used up quickly. Now scientists have made a major leap forward in making all blood universal. According to research in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, doctors have discovered an efficient way to transform A and B blood into a neutral type that can be given to any patient. Currently, blood transfusions require that the blood type of the donor match that of the recipient. If they are not the same, a patient can suffer serious side effects and even die. The exception is the universal-donor blood type O, which can be given to anyone because it doesn’t have the A or B antigens that could provoke an immune reaction. Up to now scientists have been searching for a way to convert types A and B into type O. In new experiments, Dr Stephen Withers and a team from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that some enzymes from bacteria can clip the sugars off red blood cells that give blood its “type.” But the enzymes are not very efficient. So the research team set out to see if they could boost the activity of the enzymes. The researchers tweaked one of those enzymes and improved its ability to remove type-determining sugars by 170-fold, rendering it antigen-neutral and more likely to be accepted by patients regardless of their blood type. In addition to blood transfusions, the researchers say their advance could potentially allow organ and tissue transplants from donors that would otherwise be mismatched. In the UK only 36 per cent of adults have blood group O+ (positive) and 11 per cent have O- (negative). However, only four per cent of Britons are blood donors. According to latest figures, one in four people in Britain will need a blood donation at least once in their lifetime and 1.65 million units of donated blood, each of 470 millilitres, are issued to hospitals a year. Nick Watkins, assistant director of research and development at the NHS Blood and Transplant service, said: “We welcome new developments that have the potential to improve transfusion practice. The concept of creating universal donor cells by chemical/enzymatic treatment is not new and clinical trials will be required before such a product could be used in patients. There remains a need for volunteer blood donors of all blood types for the foreseeable future." THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES. PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG- HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM       FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG- HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/ FOR CROCHET DESIGNS HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM